My personal observations; inspired by life experiences and the world around me. My own revelations; thoughts; snippets of wisdom; random insanity; blunt honesty. I hope to attempt in some small way to be insightful; or not so much. Some laughter, a few tears but mostly just... ME!
The thoughts, views and comments written here are mine alone and written from the beliefs I have developed, from the observations, actions and words of others.

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Numbers as we Know Them

It has been a cat and mouse game of who's going and who's staying. Some are holding the cards close to the chest. Those who have declared their intent to leave have been added to a list in order to capture the extent of the loss. Below is a breakdown of the number of each rank and the years of service lost. The names are irrelevant; it's the people who matter. The loss is going to be devastating in terms of human loss and the organizations ability to provide excellent public safety.

TOTAL NUMBER OF SWORN MEMBERS LEAVING

...........Quantity...... Years

Chief's....... 1 ..............33

Captains........1............31

Lieutenants...3............95

Det. Sgts......13..........396

Sergeants...20...........591

Detectives..27............757

Agents........3..............92

POII's.......36............870

Total......104...........2865

(These numbers are as of 5-13-2009)

These people will ALL be leaving by the 30th of June. We will go on and there is no closing of the doors. We cannot fold as an organization; that is not an option. What we need to do is get the word out to the citizens of San Diego that they should be worried. There will come a time officers will not be able to respond in a timely manner to their call for help because the mayor and city council have refused to acknowledge the dire situation created by the types of cuts they imposed on members of the police department.

To those reading this; pass this information to family and friends. Send it to groups and organizations thinking of coming to San Diego for business or vacation. You owe it to yourself, family and friends to take the initiative and do your part in getting this message out.

7 comments:

Anonymous
said...

From the VOICE of SAN DIEGO as of Friday, May 15th

The changes to the Deferred Retirement Option Program that were imposed on city employees as part of recently approved contracts won't take effect unless all employees vote to approve the measure, according to retirement system officials.

Rebecca Wilson, chief of staff of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System, said the city charter makes clear that all current employees must sign off on several changes to DROP that were part of the contracts imposed on the police, blue-collar workers and city management employees not represented by a union. All changes were to take effect July 1.

"It has nothing to do with anything other this is what the law is and we follow the law," Wilson said.

Here's the provision of the city charter Wilson is referring to:

No ordinance amending the retirement system which affects the benefits of any employee under such retirement system shall be adopted without the approval of a majority vote of the members of said system.

In the contracts imposed on police and blue-collar workers, the city raised the eligibility age to enter DROP by five years and eliminated an annuity option for workers who haven't entered DROP by July 1. The mayor and City Council also said the city's non-union employees could no longer take part in DROP.

All of those changes must be approved by current employees, Wilson said. That includes not only the members who would be affected by the changes, but the white-collar employees, deputy city attorneys, firefighters and elected officials who didn't have the same terms imposed on them.

Wilson said SDCERS is waiting for the city to pass an ordinance codifying the terms. Once it does, she estimated it would take between three and six months for SDCERS to conduct a vote by phone on the issue.

DROP will be in the Courts for years to come, enriching lawyers, while lowering morale and undermining the effectiveness of this organization.

As we know, Mayor Sanders has already filed in Declaratory Relief action against the P.O.A. They have not answered the complaint so we're stuck in limbo.

Today's news that the City is 10 million dollars more out-of-balance is no surprise as their revenue predictions WERE WAY TO OPTIMISTIC. I wonder why Mr. Sanders wants to keep the bad news a quiet as possible? Could it be he's just waiting to get out of here and move onto greener pastures?

I could not agree more; to an extent. DROP will not be in the courts for years. The law is clear on the issue of vesting as it relates to DROP. The mayor is hanging on with his fingernails to a statement made by Judge Huff. Without going in to a long explanation, the courts will rule in short order, DROP is a vested benefit and not subject to negotiations as the mayor states.

I am no longer involved with the SDPOA Board and the decisions being made related to the law suit filed by the mayor. I do know a reply is in the works and getting it right is much more important than getting it done quickly.

Regarding the 10 million dollar out of balance; this is the tip of the iceberg. When the State Propositions fail this week; the Governor is going to raid the funds of every county in California; costing the City of San Diego millions. The deficit for 2010-2011 will hit the 100 million mark in short order.

When will he wake up and figure out cuts alone will not close this deficit. He also needs to get a grip with the fact he is going to loose his law suit against the SDPOA.

Your article is very informative and interesting. I am sorry, however, that you omitted mention of the many good civilian SDPD employees who are also being "forced" out the door early - either by the reduction in DROP interest rates, the fear of diminished medical care, or other reasons. We, too, are integral to San Diego law enforcement.

"Anonymous" I apologize for the oversight on my part. Please know it was not intentional. I hope in some way the post I just finished pays tribute to the hard working, dedicated, experienced men and women who work tirelessly to support the effort to keep our communities safe. Each of you is an integral part in our ability to do our jobs. You will all be missed greatly. Thank you

In response to an annonymous post; It is well known that every city employee has been adversley effected by the mayor's vicious illegal attack during negotiations. My heart goes out to each employee who has to face their futures uncertainty created by the mayor's illegal actions. What even makes me sicker is the fact that several employee groups chose to cave-in to the mayor's illegal strong-arm tactics for minor, under the table, benefits. These groups chose to take the easiest path, rather than standing up for honest "good faith" bargaining. It is my understanding that the police officers association entered into "good faith" negotiations with the City armed with an excellent understanding of the City's current financial crisis. They alledgedly presented "viable" cost saving proposals to assist the City in the problem solving process. Their proposals were only to berebuked, and eventually cast aside when the City filed a law suit to rescind the vested DROP benefit in the middle of the negotiation process. From what I gather there was never any real effort by the City to come to an amicable agreement which would have benefitted both the City and emplyoees. Unfortunately the City's unscrupulous actions will have far reaching effects on current police staffing, hiring and officer retentions for years to come. The city residents will suffer the brunt of their unethical conduct.

About Me

Veteran of the San Diego Police Department who retired on 12/30/2011, after 32 years 8 months; San Diego native born and raised; Fed up with the treatment of government workers at the hands of a mayor and city council who do not value the public's interest or safety. Retired from a career in Law Enforcement that for the most part has been entertaining if not educational. I spent 12 years (1994-2006) as a Trustee for the Poway Unified School Districts Board of Education. I also served two stints as a Director for the San Diego Police Officer's Association. Politics has taught me a lot about people. I would be hard pressed to find something good about politics and politicians. So I write